Well, it’s finally here, folks. If you’re in my personal orbit, you’ve heard about tonight ad nauseam. (Thank you for your patience with me, by the way.) I’ve even alluded to its future date in my Instagram after the ticket purchase was made (see below). HAMILTON has arrived in Tampa Bay and tonight is the night I’ve been waiting for… showtime at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts. Yep, 7:30 p.m. tonight. I will be there, with my mini-binoculars in hand and my heart fluttering away. I’ve been waiting for this show for so long and frankly never thought I’d get a chance to see it anywhere. But here it is. Finally arrived. Sigh.
It’s hard to pinpoint precisely why this show has resonated with me so much. After all, a majority of the songs have a hip-hop/rap-infused sound and that’s not typically a genre of music that speaks to me. Maybe it’s the human elements of lust for power, love, jealousy, trust, betrayal and redemption. Or it could be the beautiful blend of history, modern music and cleverness woven throughout its lyrics, various plotlines and casting that hooked me immediately.
There have only been a few albums that I’ve kept in my car and listened to fairly nonstop for months at a time. I did have the original Broadway cast album for RENT in my car for months. But when it’s in the CD player for years — yes, you read that right, more than a year or two — that is probably a sign I like it, I really like it. Such was the case with two Broadway albums in my life. The original concept album for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR and … yep, HAMILTON.
If you haven’t heard the soundtrack, search it within YouTube. You can find every single track in there. Should you get the opportunity to catch “Hamilton’s America” on an old PBS rerun, do so. You’ll learn all you need to know about the show, its origins and most interestingly, about Alexander Hamilton himself. And by all means, if you too get an opportunity to see the show or at least throw your name into the local ticket lotteries that show creator Lin-Manuel Miranda holds in each city where it is performed, make it happen!
I’ve seen live productions of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR and RENT. Now it’s time to see production for which this other soundtrack has absolutely captivated me. And tonight it will happen. Tonight, I’ll be sitting there. Granted, in the back row of the orchestra, as far back as I could possibly be. But that’s okay. I know the songs by heart, I know the story. I just want to experience it. I want to be in the room where it happens.
And I will.
Thanks for reading. ~ Chris K.
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